Areas of Expertise

Information Presentation

Design & Safety

Information Processing

Perception and Attention

Warnings and Signage

Injury Mechanism

Forces and Restraints

About

Alan D. Black is a registered Professional Engineer and Flight Instructor with over 40 years of engineering, project management and safety experience in a variety of areas.

Since 2007, Mr. Black has been conducting technical investigations and research into the characteristics and causes of accidents including design, system configuration, human performance, operations and supervision. He provides technical consulting and expert testimony to the entertainment, insurance and legal communities.

Following a career in aerospace developing head-up, head-down and helmet-integrated displays for the high-stress fighter aircraft cockpit, Alan spent 18 years as a Principal Engineer and Director for both Walt Disney Imagineering and Universal Creative dealing with the advanced design of ride, show, and stunt equipment for theme parks and resorts worldwide.

Information Presentation

In presenting information it is not only important to understand the mechanics of human information processing but the emotional nature of the immediate environment (for this example, is anyone shooting at you?).

Also, the presentation must consider experience and cultural background in order to present information in a manner that is familiar and thus rapidly assimilable.

Warnings & Signage

Effective informational, instructional and warning signage promotes knowledge and understanding through a consistent set of verbiage and symbology whose purpose is to equip participants with knowledge and understanding of the skills and physical rigors sufficient to allow the safe use and enjoyment of amusement rides and devices that require active responsible participant involvement for proper and safe operation.

Cases & Specialty Experience

Cases

  • Trampoline Court foot, ankle and leg fractures

  • Climbing wall ankle fractures

  • Warped wall ankle fractures

  • Zipline back and hand injuries

  • Rollercoaster loss of leg injury

  • Flume ride injuries

  • Simulator restraint failure

  • Skid-Steer hand injury

  • CO poisoning in RV

  • Schoolyard concussion injury

  • Waterslide collisions and turbulent upset

  • Night visibility and roadway lighting

  • Special needs juvenile supervision

  • Altercation escalation resulting in gunfire

  • Construction equipment tip-over injury

  • Fish processing vessel worker injury

  • Elevator and escalator injuries

  • Inversion table neck fractures

  • Trade Dress Infringement

Specialty Experience

  • Theme Park Amusement Rides and Devices

  • Trampoline Courts

  • Ziplines

  • Challenge and Obstacle Courses

  • Warnings and Signage

  • Vision and Night Visibility

  • Perception, Attention and Motivation

  • Information Processing

  • Crew Resource Management

  • Impact and G-forces on Patrons

  • Impact Attenuation

  • Injury Mechanics

  • Mechanical Failure

  • System Safety Analysis

  • Weather and Visibility

  • Construction and Contracting

  • Flight Instructor

  • Instrument and Seaplane Rated Pilot

Mechanical Failures

Mechanical failures are often good indicators of an inadequate design but they can also be a manifestation of more complex problems and should not be taken lightly. In this case, the stress that led to failure was the result of an incorrect dimension in the attached part and not a failure of the part itself. Simple replacement of the part would thus not correct the underlying problem.

Injury Mechanism

The understanding of injury mechanisms can provide insight into accident causation as well as confirmation of the validity of the reconstruction of an accident. The fracture in the radiological image shown is characteristic of side loading and thus did not support the claim of a fall from height.

Presentations & Affiliations

adbForensics, Inc.

  • Trampoline Performance Metrics, IATP Conference.

  • Night Visibility - Perception/Reaction time during nighttime automobile operation, NASP.

Disney Imagineering:

  • Wire Rope Sizing and Testing, presentation to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

  • Conditions for the Establishment of Minimum Age/Minimum Heights in Theme Park Rides; WDI .

  • A locking Latching Redundant Seat Belt Design; WDI.

  • Establishing Minimum Rider Height in Theme Park Rides; WDI.

  • Incident Heat Influx in Grandstand Seating from Flame Effects; Paper to French CSTB.

FAA Safety Team:

  • Water: Mistress of Disguises; an in-depth study of water, its origin, phases, and effects such as hydroplaning and aerodynamic icing; FAA Safety Team seminar.

  • Vision: Believing is Seeing; the human vision system and how culture and experience influence our visual perception; FAA Safety Team seminar.

  • In-Flight Medical Emergencies; dealing with nausea hypoxia, migraines, heat attacks, and strokes while navigating at 10,000-ft; FAA Safety Team seminar.

ASTM International; Member, Contributor (Fxxx indicates standard in-work):

  • F2291 Amusement Ride Design standard

  • F2970 Trampoline Court standard

  • Fxxx Adventure Challenge Attractions standard

  • Fxxx Impact Attenuation Systems standard

  • Fxxx Informational, Instructional and Warning Signage

Forces & Restraints

The forces generated by the speed and curvature of the ride path coupled with the anthropometrics of the rider population dictate what safety restraints need to look like but the tenor of the experience also places additional requirements for consideration particularly when the ride induces panic in some riders. Escape-proofing can be required.

Design & Safety

Specific expertise in the areas of:

  • Theme Parks and Attractions

  • Trampoline Courts, Ziplines, Adventure Attractions

  • Human Interface and Anthropometrics

  • Visibility, Vision and Human Information Processing

  • Flame Safety and Heat Exposure

Education - R&D - Flight Testing

Education

Formal Education:

  • MS, Operations Research, Standford, 1984

  • BS, Mechanical Engineering, SJSU, 1980

  • AS, Electronics Technology, USAF, 1973

Continuing Education (UCLA):

  • Global Sustainability, Certificate 2011

  • Abnormal Psychology, Spring 2004

  • Behavioral Neuroscience, Summer 2004

  • Developmental Psychology, Summer 2004

  • Psychological Statistics, Fall 2014

Pre-Undergraduate Employment:

  • 4 years US Air Force; electronic technician; sea-launched ballistic missile detection radar system maintenance

  • Concurrent with undergraduate education:

  • 3- years repairing aids for the blind and assisting the development of a lap-board communicator for cerebral palsy patients

  • 6-months Research Associate at NASA- Ames Research center, Rotor Systems Branch, development of a free-tip rotor system to reduce control loads for helicopters.

Flight Testing

Taichung, Taiwan

  • New Aircraft HUD Integration

Toulouse, France

  • Airborne Weight and Balance System Testing

Fort Hunter-Liggett

  • Helicopter Missile Integration

Research and Development

Disney Imagineering:

  • Ride restraint requirements

  • Locking, latching, monitoring seat belt

  • Complex ride monitoring system for operators

  • Global safety program

Kaiser Aerospace:

  • Symbology and aircraft simulation and testing

  • Airborne weight and balance software requirements

  • Helmet integrated display systems engineering

ASTM (Standards Development):

  • Theme Park Rides (F2291)

  • Trampoline Courts (F2970)

  • Mountain Coasters (Fxxx)

  • Aerial Adventures (F2959)

  • Impact Attenuation Systems (Fxxx)

  • Adventure Challenge Areas (Fxxx)

Contact Us

adbForensics, Inc.

Consulting Analysis Report Deposition Trial Testimony

alan@adbforensics.com
(310) 750-6012